The Biographical Dictionary of America/Abbott, Austin

ABBOTT, Austin, lawyer, was born in Boston, Mass., Dec. 18, 1831: son of Jacob and Harriet (Vaughan Abbott). He was educated in Boston and was graduated with honors from the University of the City of New York in 1851, After his admission to the bar he practised as attorney and counsellor-at-law, in partnership with his brother, Benjamin Vaughan Abbott, the firm name becoming, after the subsequent admission of their brother Lyman, "Abbott Brothers." After the dissolution of the firm he continued to practise alone. In 1854 he was married to Ella L. D., daughter of S. K. Gillman, and in 1879 to Anna Rowe Worth. His reputation as an advocate was made known by his able defence of Mr. Beecher in the famous Beecher-Tilton case. He was made an LL.D. by the University of New York in 1886, and in 1891 he became dean of the university law school and professor of equity and jurisprudence, law of evidence and pleading. His publications include: "Legal Remembrances" (1871): "Decisions of New York Court of Appeals," 1850-69 (4 vols., 1873-74); "Official Report of the Trial of Henry Ward Beecher" (2 vols., 1875); "New Cases: Decisions of the Courts, State of New York, 1874-90," with an analytical index to points of law and practice (26 vols., 1877-91); "Brief for the Trial of Civil Issues before a Jury" (1885); "Table of Cases Criticised in the New York Reports" (1887); "Principles and Forms of Practice" (2 vols., 1887-88); "Brief for the Trial of Criminal Cases" (1889); and he assisted in the preparation of "Abbott's New York Digest," and "Abbott's Forms." He also wrote in conjunction with his brothers, Benjamin Vaughan and Lyman, the novels "Cone-Cut Corners," and "Caraby," under the pseudonym "Benauly," a combination of the first syllables of their names. In 1894 he completed a digest of New York statutes and reports of which he had been joint editor with his brother Benjamin Vaughan until 1884, and in 1894 he also published "New Cases," selected chiefly from decisions of the courts of the state of New York. He was a member of the New York bar association, the Union league club, a founder of the of Y. M. C. A. of New York city, and a deacon of the Broadway (N.Y.) Tabernacle. He died in New York city, April 19, 1896.